Monday, March 19, 2012

Ok, so I'll be honest with you . This cake was absolutely terrible. It talked. Literally. Whenever I would pass it by in the kitchen, it would call out my name, in this pitiful voice:

Eat me...eat meeeee. you know you want tooooo.

Let me tell you, it was a horrible experience. And I couldnt just ignore it. Because it was so good. And so convincing too! Could be you've had this experience before, could be not. But trust me on this, its not very fun, being under the rule of a bossy banana cake. And what's worse is I was the only one in the house afflicted with this problem! What is wrong with everyone? Am I the only one who is an absolute pushover for a tall piece of super moist banana cake with cream chocolate frosting on top? I know I am definitely not the only person on this planet with this problem, because I happen to know for a fact that my sister would never say know to a piece of this cake. And that is why next week, I have a date with my sister. Just me, her and a big 'ole pan of banana cake. No banana-haters allowed.

Banana Cake

If you are the type of person who reads through the whole recipe before starting, (none of you I bet) then you may have been surprised to see the oven temperature and baking time. Go ahead, I'll wait while you quickly go check it out. ......................Yes, it is not a mistake! I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com and the recipe poster was insistent that this is the only way to make the cake. The reviewers also insisted that it works, so I figured, she must be on to something here. I followed the recipe exactly the first time I made it, and the cake came out delicious but still undercooked. Not wanting to give up on it quite yet, I tried one more time, but this time I baked it for as long as it took until the toothpick came out clean: 1 hour and 45 minutes. It's a long time, but the result was completely worth it. The cake has a very light banana flavor- not overwhelming at all, and I noticed it has very little of those weird banana brown squiqqly lines in it. The moisture in this cake is really unbelievable. So go ahead and give it a try, and make sure to let me know what you think!

3/4 cup margarine or butter

2 1/8 cup white sugar

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups buttermilk*

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 5-6 large bananas)

Preheat oven to 275° Fahrenheit. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. (I actually used 2 8'' square pans.) In a small bowl, using a hand mixer, cream the bananas together with the lemon juice and set aside. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream 3/4 cup margarine and 2 1/8 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in 2 teaspoons vanilla. Beat on high for about 5 minutes until the batter is light and creamy. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Stir in banana mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan.Bake in preheated oven for at least 1 hour 30 minutes or more: until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place directly into freezer for 45 minutes. This will make the cake very moist.*To make your own buttermilk: measure about 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice or vinegar into your measuring cup. Fill the rest of the way with milk, soy milk or rice milk. Let sit for a few minutes.

Creamy Chocolate Frosting

4 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup margarine, softened (1 stick)

1/3 cup boiling water

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

In a large bowl combine the powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Add butter, boiling water, and the vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until well combined. Beat for 1 minute on medium speed. If necessary, cool for 10 to 20 minutes or until mixture reaches spreading consistency.